Third Lebanese IMF negotiator quits post, says source

A senior member of Lebanon’s negotiating team with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has resigned, becoming the third to do so over deadlocked talks, a source close to the finance ministry told Reuters on Sunday.

Talal Salman was economic advisor to the Lebanese finance ministry. A ministry spokeswoman declined to comment.

Lebanon began talks with the IMF for a bailout in May after defaulting on its huge sovereign debt but the negotiations were put on hold in July due to a lack of action on reforms and a row on the Lebanese side over the size of its vast financial losses.

The government that launched the talks resigned this month over the Aug. 4 port explosion in Beirut that fuelled public anger at a political class seen as responsible for the country’s many woes, including a deep financial crisis rooted in corruption and mismanagement.

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